Florida GOP incumbents prep for death match

Add Florida’s 7th District to the list of incumbent-on-incumbent House primaries that have taken a turn for the worse.

From the Orlando Sentinel report on the Aug. 14 primary between Florida Republican Reps. John Mica and Sandy Adams:

To Adams, Mica is a symbol Republican weakness — a career dealmaker who sacrificed conservative principles and became a fixture in Washington. To Mica, Adams is a legislative lightweight — long on rhetoric and short on accomplishments.

Their dislike for each other was obvious Tuesday, as they debated at a Tiger Bay luncheon in downtown Orlando.

Adams portrayed Mica as a profligate spender, saying he had presided over the "bloating-ness" of federal agencies like the General Services Administration.

"This has got to stop," said Adams. "This is what we had said, as the 87 freshman when we took office."

Mica pointed out that he had identified millions in savings during his career and consistently worked to lower taxes.

"This campaign is about record versus rhetoric," said Mica. "People go to Washington and they talk about doing things … but you've got to look at somebody who makes a difference."

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the tone of the contest is getting sharper — these incumbent vs. incumbent races never end well.

That’s especially true when the two incumbents are from the same party. Since there aren’t typically a lot of issues to draw contrasts on, members are forced to dial up the personal criticism to differentiate themselves.